The Netherlands placed 34th, while Taiwan came in 18th ahead of Japan (23rd) and Germany (28th), according to the annual report based on a survey of 152 nations and regions.
Hong Kong took the top spot, while Singapore placed second.
“Global economic freedom fell slightly in this year’s report and remains well below its peak level of 6.92 (out of a possible 10 points) in 2007,” Cato Institute said. “The average score dropped to 6.84 in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available.”
The report measures levels of economic freedom, based on a range of factors such as size of government, taxation, rule of law, property rights and regulation.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
